Just Another Bookish Blog

The Giver - Lois Lowry
Hi everyone! 

This book though! 

It was one of those books that once I was done reading, I set it down and thought about it for ages...

I, as many other kids, had to read this in 6th grade. At the time, I just thought 'okay, its another schoolbook'. I've recently re-read it, and it is now one of my favorites. There are so many things that I had not noticed at a younger age! 

However, I think that classifying this book as a children's book is a bit overconfident. More like YA in my opinion. There are too many things that 10 year olds won't notice when reading it, that change the entire storyline. 

Anywho!

I love how it is written, and how simple ideas make the story what it is. Even though it is clearly dystopian to older readers, it is still presented from the point of view of a child, making it seem more gentle and almost 'normal'. (More information on that below) 
Its a story about not sticking to societies pre-constructed rules, and about seeing what else is out there, and opining your horizons. 
This might be a book from my childhood, but its still definitely one of my favorites, still today :) 
I love how easy to read it is, and how it gives a completely plausible idea of the future. 

(And yes I found the movie disappointing, but not too awful =p ) 

**SPOILERS**
(Refer to where I said there would be more information)
For example, the fact that the entire community sees the world in black and white, and that Jonas, the protagonist, notices that he is different because something changes about his surroundings (he starts seeing the color red). We, as readers, do not notice this difference in color until the Giver says 'you are starting to see the color red'. Then, the book takes on a whole new dimension that changes how we read it. This kind of twist happens very often throughout the novel, you just have to notice it! 
This is clearly dystopian, but not in the way that many books are today. This seemed more strict in its rules, yet presented in a more gentle way. I found this mix absolutely fascinating. One example of this is when the newchildren, if twins, are weighed. The lightest one would be 'released'. As a more mature reader, we know that this means the newchild would die, yet they way it is written makes it seem, as I said, more gentle, and somewhat innocent. 

I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads!


This book filled my 'a book that became a movie' requirement!